- Globally 2020 was billed as a disastrous year for Aviation and hospitality sector recording the sharpest traffic decline in aviation history.
- According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2020 demand (revenue passenger kilometers) fell by 65.9 percent compared to the previous year.
Globally 2020 was billed as a disastrous year for Aviation and hospitality sector recording the sharpest traffic decline in aviation history. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2020 demand (revenue passenger kilometres) fell by 65.9 percent compared to the previous year.
RwandAir, the national carrier also suffered heavy losses. To offset losses, RwandAir entered the cargo space. It also started operating flights from Asia to the Middle East, then onwards to Europe during the pandemic. In the year 2021, the national carrier added new destinations like Doha and Qatar to its network by signing a codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways.
The carrier will operate the route three times a week with flight code WB300 replacing Qatar Airways’ Kigali-Doha route that has been operational for over nine years. The route will open seamless connections from Doha to over 40 destinations across the Qatar Airways network.
Apart from Doha, the airline added Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR), Goma and Lumbashi both in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). The DR Congo route is expected to boost the business prospects between the two countries, especially in the mining sector. DR Congo is the main destination for Rwanda’s informal exports, accounting for 86.9 per cent of Rwanda’s informal cross-border exports.
The Airline weathered the global crisis with government stimulus boost of Rwf145.1 billion and another subsidy of Rwf81.3 billion. There is optimism among the officials that is one of the most vaccinated countries in Africa, it is unlikely that Rwanda may again experience the global halt and reductions witnessed in 2020 when air travel rate declined by 70% lower than pre-pandemic levels.
